U.S. patent application number 17/212945 was filed with the patent office on 2022-09-29 for direct or cable connect high power delivery battery.
The applicant listed for this patent is Xentris Wireless LLC. Invention is credited to Rick Nowinski, Vivek Patel.
Application Number | 20220311059 17/212945 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005580726 |
Filed Date | 2022-09-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220311059 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Patel; Vivek ; et
al. |
September 29, 2022 |
DIRECT OR CABLE CONNECT HIGH POWER DELIVERY BATTERY
Abstract
A battery provided with at least one battery cell electrically
coupled to a battery management circuitry, a power regulation and
supply circuitry, a USB-C port controller, an E-marker integrated
circuit and a USB interface. The E-marker integrated circuit
provided in-line along a CC conductor between the USB-C port
controller and the USB interface. The USB-C port controller is
configured to enable the E-marker integrated circuit upon reception
of a vendor defined message via the USB interface which enables a
high power delivery mode between the battery and a device without
the presence of a separate interconnecting E-marker cable there
between.
Inventors: |
Patel; Vivek; (Elk Grove
Village, IL) ; Nowinski; Rick; (Woodridge,
IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Xentris Wireless LLC |
Addison |
IL |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005580726 |
Appl. No.: |
17/212945 |
Filed: |
March 25, 2021 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01M 10/4257 20130101;
H01M 2010/4271 20130101; H01M 2010/4278 20130101; H02J 7/0013
20130101; H01R 24/60 20130101; H01R 2107/00 20130101; H02J 7/0042
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01M 10/42 20060101
H01M010/42; H02J 7/00 20060101 H02J007/00 |
Goverment Interests
GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS
[0001] This invention was made with government support under
PO-0000985 (GTS) awarded by U.S. Army, Army Futures Command, Combat
Capabilities Development Command, C5ISR Center, Command Power and
Integration Directorate, Power Division, Tactical Power Branch. The
government has certain rights in the invention.
Claims
1. A battery, comprising: at least one battery cell electrically
coupled to a battery management circuitry, a power regulation and
supply circuitry, a USB-C port controller, an E-marker integrated
circuit and a USB interface; the E-marker integrated circuit
provided in-line along a CC conductor between the USB-C port
controller and the USB interface; the at least one battery cell,
the battery management circuitry, the power regulation and supply
circuitry, the USB-C port controller, the E-marker integrated
circuit and the USB interface provided within a body of the
battery; wherein the USB-C port controller is configured to enable
the E-marker integrated circuit upon reception of a vendor defined
message via the USB interface.
2. The battery of claim 1, wherein the USB interface includes
conductor contacts and a USB-C socket.
3. The battery of claim 2, wherein the vendor defined message
indicates that a device coupled to the conductor contacts requests
a high-power mode.
4. The battery of claim 2, wherein the body has a top face, a
cylindrical terminal extending from a center of the top face, a top
of the cylindrical terminal provided with the conductor contacts
and the USB-C socket.
5. The battery of claim 2, wherein the conductor contacts include a
Vbus contact, and a CC contact.
6. The battery of claim 5, wherein the Vbus contact and the CC
contact are electrically coupled to corresponding conductors of the
USB-C socket.
7. The battery of claim 5, wherein the vendor defined message is
received via the CC contact.
8. The battery of claim 1, wherein the USB-C port controller
enablement of the E- marker integrated circuit is via a
general-purpose input/output port of the USB-C port controller that
is electrically coupled to an enablement pin of the E-marker
integrated circuit.
9. The battery of claim 1, wherein the battery manager has an
accelerometer for detecting inertial inputs as a means for
switching between power modes of the battery.
10. A method for validating a high power mode for a battery,
comprising the steps of: providing at least one battery cell
electrically coupled to a battery management circuitry, a power
regulation and supply circuitry, a USB-C port controller, an E-
marker integrated circuit and a USB interface; the E-marker
integrated circuit provided in-line along a CC conductor between
the USB-C port controller and the USB interface; the at least one
battery cell, the battery management circuitry, the power
regulation and supply circuitry, the USB-C port controller, the
E-marker integrated circuit and the USB interface provided within a
body of the battery; and configuring the USB-C port controller to
enable the E-marker integrated circuit upon reception of a vendor
defined message via the USB interface.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the USB interface includes
conductor contacts and a USB-C socket.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the conductor contacts include
a Vbus contact, and a CC contact.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the vendor defined message is
received via the CC contact.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the E-marker integrated circuit
is enabled only if the battery has a capacity capable of providing
the high power mode.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the high power mode is between
the battery and a device direct connected to the battery via the
USB interface.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the vendor defined message is
recognized by the battery as a pre-arranged code signifying high
power mode capability of the device.
Description
BACKGROUND
Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to batteries. More particularly, the
invention relates to a battery provided with both direct and
Universal Serial Bus type C (USB-C) cable connect interfaces
capable of high power delivery according to Universal Serial Bus
Power Delivery (USB-PD) protocols.
Description of Related Art
[0003] Batteries are used to power portable electrical devices. To
minimize electrical device size, reduce the time required for a
battery exchange and/or enable use of different power capacity
batteries according to a specific use/mission, batteries have been
provided configured for attachment to external surfaces of the
portable electrical devices. For example, in a military context,
portable electrical devices may include: radios, global positioning
systems, sighting systems, metal detectors, power tools et cetera.
Different electrical devices utilize a range of different power
capacity and/or power consumption rate requirements.
[0004] USB is an interconnection/communications specification and
USB-PD is a power delivery specification of the USB Implementers
Forum, Inc., both specifications hereby incorporated by reference
in their respective entireties. The USB-PD protocol has a
high-power delivery mode of up to 20 Volts/5 Amps. A wide range of
cables provided with conductors and USB-C connectors capable of a
corresponding range of power delivery levels exist. For example, a
USB-C cable intended for data transfer may have conductors
dimensioned for low power levels, only. To ensure that a device
requesting the 5 Amp high power delivery mode is connected with the
battery safely, the power capacity of the interconnecting USB-C
cable conductors and connectors is verified by the presence of an
E-mark integrated circuit chip within the cable that responds to an
interrogation signal with the cable's power and data transfer
capacities before the 5 Amp high power delivery mode can be
initiated. Unless a corresponding E-marker cable is present, the 5
Amp high power delivery mode cannot be initiated under USB-PD
protocol.
[0005] Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide battery
solutions that overcome deficiencies in the prior art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention, where like reference numbers in the drawing figures
refer to the same feature or element and may not be described in
detail for every drawing figure in which they appear and, together
with a general description of the invention given above, and the
detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to
explain the principles of the invention.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary battery, aligned
for direct connection insertion into a device.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the battery and device of FIG.
1, interconnected.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an exemplary battery connected
to a device via a USB-C cable.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an exemplary battery.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a close-up view of area -A- of FIG. 4.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram of the battery of FIG.
4.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a logical flowchart demonstrating rules for 5 Amp
high power delivery mode between a 5 Amp high power delivery mode
capable battery and device in direct connection.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
[0014] The inventors have recognized that a standardized battery
configuration enables cost and time efficient battery production,
warehousing, distribution and use with a wide range of electrical
devices.
[0015] The inventors have invented a battery 1, as shown for
example in FIGS. 1-5, with an interconnection interface that
accommodates a wide range of different electromechanical
interconnection insertion vectors and/or rotational mechanics.
Thereby, a single battery 1 configuration is usable with a wide
range of electrical devices 2 and/or an individual battery 1 may be
exchanged between electrical devices 2 as needed.
[0016] The versatility of the battery 1 is further enhanced by the
implementation of the USB-PD standard, enabling use of the battery
1 with USB standard conforming devices 2. However, due to the
USB-PD requirement for the presence of an E-marker cable 3, the
USB-PD 5 Amp high power delivery mode is not available when a
conventional battery is provided direct connected to a
device--because there is no cable present in a direct connection.
Therefore, the inventors have devised a battery 1 that senses
direct connection with a device 2 requesting 5 Amp high power
delivery mode and self verifies compatibility without the
requirement for the E-marker cable 3 between the battery 1 and the
device 2.
[0017] As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an exemplary battery 1 is
provided with a USB-C interface 4 that includes both direct
connection electrical contacts 5 (Vbus 7 and CC 9 and GND 11) and a
separate USB-C socket 15. The battery 1 has a generally cuboid body
17 with a top face 19, a cylindrical terminal 21 extending from a
center of the top face 19. The direct connection electrical
contacts Vbus 7 and CC 9 and the USB-C socket 15 are provided on
the cylindrical terminal 21. State of charge indicia 23 may also be
provided on the cylindrical terminal 21.
[0018] Conductors of the USB-C socket 15 that correspond to Vbus 7,
CC 9 and GND 11 are coupled in parallel with the direct connection
electrical contacts 5. Thereby, the battery 1 may be electrically
connected to a device 2 via the USB-C interface 4 by either a USB
cable (such as an E-marker cable 3) seated in the USB-C socket 15
or by mating of the battery 1 and device 2 that aligns and directly
interconnects corresponding conductors of the device 2 (note the
USB-C conductor specification utilizes redundant conductors CC1 and
CC2 to comprise the CC 9 conductor referenced herein) with the
direct connection electrical contacts 5.
[0019] Internally, as shown for example in FIG. 6, the battery 1
includes one or more battery cells 25, monitored/controlled by
battery management circuitry 27, power regulation and supply
circuitry 29, a USB-C port controller 31, an E-marker integrated
circuit 33 and the USB interface 4.
[0020] The battery 1 may be provided, for example, as one or more
battery cells 25. Battery cell 25 may utilize any of a wide range
of battery chemistry, such as lithium-ion. The battery management
circuitry 27 monitors battery status, for example, cell power
levels and temperature, providing over voltage protection, fusing,
charge level feed back and general battery enablement during
charging and discharging optimized for the selected battery
chemistry of the battery cells 25. The battery management circuitry
27 may further include an accelerometer 37 for detecting inertial
inputs as a means for switching between energized, charge level
reporting and standby power modes of the battery 1.
[0021] The power regulation supply circuitry 29, comprising for
example, a narrow VDC buck-boost battery charge controller/system
power monitor integrated circuit and buck-boost switching, receives
power configuration and delivery instructions from the USB-C port
controller 26 and transforms the power from the battery cells 20 to
the requested voltage/current. The USB-C port controller 31
monitors the USB-C interface 4 for connections and negotiates with
connected devices 2 to determine a power delivery voltage/current
level. The USB-C interface 4 is both a USB-C socket 15 and the
direct connection electrical contacts 5, in parallel conductor
connection.
[0022] As specified by the USB-PD standard, when a request for the
5 Amp high power delivery mode is received from a device 2 (via the
presence of a pull-down resistor along the CC conductor(s)), the
USB-C port controller 31 queries for the presence of the E-marker
integrated circuit 33 provided within 5 Amp capable USB cables and
provides power at the 5 Amp power level only if the presence of the
E-marker integrated circuit 33 is detected.
[0023] The USB-PD standard has no provision for 5 Amp high power
delivery mode where no E-marker cable 3 is present between the
battery 1 and device 2. A battery 1 according to the invention
overcomes this limitation by selectively enabling a battery 1
resident E-marker integrated circuit 33, only when a 5 Amp high
power delivery mode compatible device 2 is detected in direct
connection with the battery 1.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 7, upon direct interconnection (10) with
the battery 1, at which time the battery 1 broadcasts its
configurations/capacity parameters (20). The capacity of the
battery is an initial determinant of whether or not 5 Amp high
power mode is possible (30). If the battery 1 has a capacity a
device 2 configured for direct connection with the battery 1 which
can utilize the 5 Amp high power delivery mode (such as greater
than 50 Watt-hours capacity), the device 2 identifies itself to the
battery 1 by sending a vendor defined message (VDM) (40) via the CC
9 conductor(s) of the USB interface 4.
[0025] If the correct VDM is received by the USB-C port controller
31, the USB-C port controller 31 acknowledges (50 ) by activating a
general-purpose input/output port 35 of the USB-C controller 31
that is coupled to an enable pin 36 of the battery resident
E-marker integrated circuit 33, thereby activating the E-marker
integrated circuit (60). The battery resident E-marker integrated
circuit 33, is provided inline between the USB interface 4 and the
USB-C port controller 31. Once activated, the E-marker integrated
circuit 33 communicates with the USB-C port controller 31 as if it
was present in a cable interconnecting the battery 1 and the device
2, wherein the E-marker integrated circuit 33 enables 5 Amp high
power delivery mode between the battery 1 and the interconnected
device 2 (70), for example a "superfast" charge mode.
[0026] If the battery 1 does not have the greater than 50
Watt-hours capacity (30), any VDM request from the direct connected
device 2 is ignored (80), which prevents 5 Amp high power delivery
mode therebetween.
[0027] One skilled in the art will appreciate that the vendor
defined message is recognized by the battery as a pre-arranged code
signifying high power mode capability of the device.
[0028] Thereby, initiation of direct connection high power mode is
safely restricted to battery 1 and device 2 pairs that are both
configured for and capable of high power delivery therebetween.
[0029] The USB-PD standard is supported by integrated circuit
vendors providing both USB port controller and E-marker integrated
circuits, greatly simplifying battery circuit design and ensuring a
pre-validated compatibility with the USB standard(s). One skilled
in the art will appreciate that, building upon the widely supported
USB-PD standard, according to the invention, to enable suitably
configured devices to receive 5 Amp high power delivery mode when
direct connected to the battery--significantly increases the
battery utility at minimal additional expense.
TABLE-US-00001 Table of Parts 1 battery 2 device 3 E-marker cable 4
USB-C interface 5 electrical contacts 7 Vbus 9 CC 11 GND 15 USB-C
socket 17 body 19 top face 21 cylindrical terminal 23 state of
charge indicia 25 battery cell 27 battery management circuitry 29
power regulation and supply circuitry 31 USB-C port controller 33
E-marker integrated circuit 35 general purpose I/O port 36 enable
pin 37 accelerometer
[0030] Where in the foregoing description reference has been made
to materials, ratios, integers or components having known
equivalents then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if
individually set forth.
[0031] While the present invention has been illustrated by the
description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments
have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention
of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the
appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and
modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art.
Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to
the specific details, representative apparatus, methods, and
illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures
may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or
scope of applicant's general inventive concept. Further, it is to
be appreciated that improvements and/or modifications may be made
thereto without departing from the scope or spirit of the present
invention as defined by the following claims.
* * * * *